Vancouver New Year's Eve Fireworks

New Year’s Eve fireworks and celebrations used to happen in Vancouver near Canada Place. As of December 2023, however, they take place in False Creek.

The new venue is near Concord Pacific Place and Science World at the eastern end of False Creek.

VANCOUVER FIREWORKS CANCELLED (but not on the North Shore)

The last time the New Year’s Eve fireworks took place in Burrard Inlet by Canada Place was in 2018. Organizers of the event took the year off in 2019, so no big event took place then. 2020 was supposed to be the first year for the new venue at False Creek. Because of COVID-19, however, the fireworks were cancelled in 2020 and 2021.

They were going to return in 2022, but were sadly cancelled once again due to increasing costs and other challenges. The partying and pyrotechnics will hopefully happen on December 31st in 2023.

Although no major fireworks events are happening in the City of Vancouver this year, there are fireworks events at a couple of North Shore ski hills. Fireworks go off at Cypress starting at 7:00 pm and at Grouse Mountain at 9:00 pm on December 31st in 2022.

To learn about what the event used to look like, see our article about NYE at Canada Place. To learn about the event at the new future venue in False Creek, continue reading.

Fireworks and NYE Celebrations at Vancouver’s False Creek

With the plan to celebrate its inaugural year on December 31st, 2023, the fireworks in False Creek promises to be the biggest New Year’s celebrations in Metro Vancouver.

In previous years the fireworks took place in Coal Harbour near Canada Place. For various reasons, the event now has a new location.

Until it got cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, a new feature introduced for the 2020 NYE season was going to be the synchronization of fireworks with building lights. The exteriors of large buildings along False Creek, like Science World, were going to be lit up to match the fireworks. Unfortunately, the celebrations were cancelled in 2021 and 2022. Now we’ll have to wait until the last day of 2023 to enjoy that new element of the show.

False Creek View from Cambie Street Bridge — False Creek from the Cambie Street Bridge

Where Will Vancouver’s 2023 Fireworks Be?

The new location for the fireworks is in the inner harbour area of the eastern part of False Creek, between the Cambie Street Bridge and Science World. Folks will be able to view the fireworks from anywhere along the False Creek Seawall in that area.

Other notable events that have been hosted at this location in the past include Expo ’86 (i.e. the World Fair in 1986) and the Vancouver Dragon Boat Festival. During Expo ’86, fireworks took place in this same part of False Creek on a regular basis.

What to Expect in 2023

When the fireworks do finally happen in False Creek, the celebrations will no doubt be significant. The pyrotechnics show is going to launch from a number of barges in the water. We expect over 100,000 people to attend.

Similar to the event in past years at Canada Place, expect there to be music, live entertainment, crowds of people and amazing fireworks. Roads in the area are likely going to be closed off for the evening, as will the Cambie Street Bridge (or at least that’s our prediction). It’ll be fun (but also a challenge for traffic).